Obama/Biden ’08; Let the Self Destruction Begin

I am really surprised. I think it’s a bad choice. Which I’m happy about, but Wow, what a poor choice. Obama’s camp seems to get dumber by the minute.

Of all the names I saw floated over the last few weeks there was one name that I consistently wondered about. Biden’s. Of all the people Obama could have chosen, or even have on his short list, I’m of the opinion that Biden was both the weakest and the one that deserved being there the least.

I understand Biden brings a bit of experience and longevity to the ticket. Obama desperately needs exactly that. Biden, as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee can provide that. It is, however, incomprehensible to me that Obama evidently ignored the rest of the experience and longevity Biden brings along. Biden’s personal charm, talents and charisma aside, he has considerable baggage that would speak against him being on the ticket for practical and political reasons. How the Obama camp missed these is beyond me. I offer a short list for your consideration.

Despite having years to learn and know better, Biden has way too many political mis-steps and gaffes in his past to be anything other than a ticking time bomb for Obama’s campaign. Oldest and highest on the list is Biden’s now famous bout with plagiarism which arguably cost him the Democratic nomination for President in a campaign against Michael Dukakis in the late 80s. The most recent was just two days ago when, instead of choosing political dissembling, Biden simply lied to journalists about his place in the Veep-Stakes. Plagiarists are cheats and thieves. We can now add liar or stupid to the list. This is who Obama wants to stand by his side and represent change?

Finally, when choosing a running mate it always helps to have someone who is more interested in running on your ticket than he is on the ticket from the other side. The buzz in the Tubes this morning is how quickly the McCain camp got this video together. It’s obvious they had video prepared for a number of possibilities and probably got their dream pick. See for yourself.

There will be more on both Obama and Biden in the weeks ahead. Suffice it to say that for the moment, I feel confident Obama’s pick has stunned the political world. Neither side can believe the choice. The Left will try and spin this as a great pick. The Right is already all over it “like a duck on a June bug” as they say here in the South. Given that metaphor is a picture of a predator snapping up a tasty treat, it is also quite appropriate. At the end of the day, I cannot conceive of a worse pick for Democrats and a better one for Republicans than Joe Biden. But the choice is made and we move to the next step in the process. Time will tell.